FAQ
Q: What is Android?
A: It is an open sourced mobile OS by Google

Q: What is the current version of Android?
A: 2.2 for most handsets, 2.3 rolling out over the next few months, with 3.0 codenamed Honeycomb out soon.

Q: What is Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread?
A: They are codenames for Android versions named after delicious pastry/desserts and in alphabetical order. Froyo – 2.2, Gingerbread - 2.3

Q: Why Android phones have a chin?
A: Only HTC’s phones have them, for me they do prevent scratches when placing the phone down

Q: If I buy a phone, can it upgrade to a higher version?
A: Some manufacturers will provide it, but if there is not one, you can always rely on xda-developers.com to provide one. So far, only HTC and Motorola are the best at providing upgrades.

Q: What manufactures are on board this Android’s ship
A: Lots, Including HTC, Samsung, LG, Dell, Motorola, Sony Erricson, Acer and lots more to come.

Q: Does Android have Chinese input?
A: Google provides it’s infamous pinyin input. HTC’s IME have handwriting, pinyin, zhuyin, changjin and strokes. Not only that, there is always other IMEs that supports other languages such as Japanese, Greek etc.

Q: How is the web browser?
A: In terms of technology, they support nearly the same thing, both are equally fast in terms on general use the same hardware

Q:Copy & Paste?
A:Yes, system wide, as long there is a text box for text input

Q: Does Android supports multi-tasking?
A: Yes

Q: Where is the task manager?
A: There is no official task manager, as Android manages phone resources “auto-magically”. However, there are task managers in Adroid Market.

Q: How come I can’t receive MMS/ Connect to 3G / Edge
A: Means two things, wrong APN settings or you din’t activate the mobile network. For the APN settings, refer to your telco’s website, there should be a tutorial to tell you how to connect.

Q: What is this “Google Experience”
A: Just means it uses the vanilla Android, no “crap”.

Q: What is HTC Sense?
A: UI layer from HTC, just like Touch Flo for WinMo. Concentrates on integration between people, software apps, and social networks.

Q: What is Moto Blur?
A: Another UI layer from Motorola, it sucks, period.

Q: What is Nandroid?
A: A full backup (I really mean every freaking thing) software that is built in to the recovery image

Q: What is recovery mode?
A: A alternative mode to the normal OS, can be accessed by holding the HOME and POWER button together while turning ON

Q: Does Android/Hardware support kinetic scrolling, animations?
A: Yes

Q: Does Android/Hardware support multi-touch?
A: This is hardware and software dependent. Currently HTC sense and Android 2.0 and above uses multi-touch.

Q:Is the screen really sensitive?
A:Other than HTC Tattoo, most of the phones use a capacitive touch screen, the same technology as the iPhone which also allows multi-touch.

Q: How does rooting works?
A: It essentially adds two files to the system folder (su and superuser.apk). It is just like installing a computer driver that provides direct access to the hardware.

Q: What benefits does rooting gives?
A: Quite a lot, some market apps depend on root.
Currently rooting gives you the following:
Bluetooth File Transfer(OBEX)
Put apps folder on SD card (app2SD)
Full Backup
Full control over the phone

Q: What is the risk of rooting?
A: Essentially, zero, a hard reset will bring it back to it's previous state.

Q: What is a ROM?
A: A rom is an image, kinda like a photo that contains the necessary data to run phone. Also referred to as Firmware or OS

Q: Is there official ROM updates like Nokia or Iphone(HTC phones)?
A: Yes, Look for it in HTC's website, most phones uses OTA(over the air) updates, means it will automatically update if avalaible.

Q: What is a bootloader?
A: It is a piece of software that executes when you start the phone.

Q: What happens when a bootloader is locked, signed or encrypted?
A: You can't have a complete custom rom as you can't change the kernel

Q: So, why do people say I need to flash it?
A: Its like changing your phone's clothes and may gain abilities such as Root Access, Android Market, Cool themes and they are generally faster than the originals.

Q: What is flashing, it is dangerous?
A: It is not as dangerous as it used to be, there are now two to three layers of protection if something goes wrong. However there is still a chance that something will go wrong but that is like 1 in 100000 chance, if you followed the instructions correctly.

Q: How come I don’t have the Android Market?
A: Units from some countries such Malaysia, Vietnam are replaced SlideMe market, which is a inferior version the Android market. To get it refer below.

Q: What do I have to loose when flashing to a custom ROM?
A: A wipe is needed, means contacts, sms will be gone (you will need to backup and restore after flashing)
    APN settings will not be inside, you will need to enter it yourself
    When claiming warranty, you will need to flash it back which some people may consider a hassle.

Q: Is there anyway to disable 3G/HSDPA until required?
A: Yes, turn off mobile network under wireless settings in the settings, you can also force it to connect to GSM networks only.

Q: What is APN?
A: It is a set of settings that is used by the phone to connect to the Internet using 3G/HSPA via your telco (DiGi, Maxis, Celcom). Also need to make MMS work.

Q: What are the APN settings?
A: APN settings for Maxis, Digi and Celcom are available below

Q: So, how do I get Android Market?
A: The best way is to just flash to a custom Rom that contains Android Market.

Q: How come my Android Market only have free apps?
A: Install market-enabler(Google it)

Q: How do I buy from Market and how do I pay for it?
A: You will need a Google Checkout Account that links to your credit card

Q: I got market, how come I can’t download anything
A: Market uses port 5228 to communicate, make sure that the port is not blocked

Q: Is there any GPS software for android?
A: So far there are a few, Papago X5, Ndrive, Co-pilot, Sygic, and Google Navigation. Currently MFM(malfreemaps) or MSM(malsing maps) have Papago X5 maps only. Sygic and Google do have maps for Malaysia, but they are not as complete as MFM or MSM’s maps.

Q: Does PapagoX5 works with MFM maps?
A: Yes, get the X5 version and paste it in the "maps" directory in the SD card

Q: How much does PapagoX5 cost?
A: Online shops sells for 2280 NTD or RM 200+ Rumored to cost around RM 150+ locally.

Q: Does PapagoX5 supports android 2.1?
A: Yes only with the x5.1 patch and new data files

Q: Where can I download PapagoX5 SEA?
A: You can download them at the following links, you will need a unlock code to use it.
http://dl2.papago.com.tw/download/Papago/A...90818_MY+SG.zip
http://www.papago.com.tw/andsea/PAPAGO_SEA_090717.apk

Q: No Garmin?
A: Garmin said they are working on it, no release date though. However do note that garmin are releasing phones with them, it is unlikely they will release as a software package.

Q: There is no file manager, where can I get it?
A: I would recommend the Astro File manager from Android Market

Q: Does it support Exchange/ ActiveSync / Outlook?
A: HTC sense does have support for it, official support comes in version 2.0 and above

Q: Does it supports MS Office?
A: Quickoffice that comes with HTC’s phone does a great job viewing them. For editing and other features, check the Market

Q: Does it have Adobe Flash?
A: The vanilla Android does not have flash, but HTC’s Sense phones do have them but, very slow. Android 2.2 and above supports the real flash 10.1 beta

Q: Does it have a PDF reader?
A: Yes, comes with HTC’s phones or you can download Adobe's version from the market(2.1 and above)

Q: Does it have like a PC suite thingy?
A: Some manufacturer such as HTC may provide one, but you are better off syncing to the cloud and editing within Google Contacts/Calander.

Q: Will it connect to the internet when connected to a computer?
A: No, unlike WM, it does not do so. But you may set up a adhoc connection to your laptop.

Q: Does it have a backup software?
A: There are plenty on the market, most people are using Sprite Backup, My backup Pro, and backup for Root (Requires Root)

Q: Can android let us stored the sms/email in the sd card?  (jajac)
A: Unfortunately, no. If you are looking for backups, most backup software will do that. If you do Gmail, email is actually not stored locally at all.

Q: Does the Android have a future?
A: It has the highest adoption rate of all platforms (since iPhone already saturated most markets).

Q: What games are avalaible?
A: There are lots of games including some fun ones like Labyrinth, Bonsai Blast etc. Selection not as wide as the App Store though, FPS and some 3d intensive games are still available but you will need the high end android devices to run.

Q: Is Android truly open?
A: No, there are some closed source parts, such as Google’s Apps

Q: Where can I download the SDK
A: developers.android.com

Q: Is Rooting/Flashing permanent?
A: No, it is possible to return to its original state by flashing the original rom (Obtainable from manufacturer’s site).

Q: If I restored it, is it detectable during warranty claims?
A: Just like the iPhone, it is quite impossible, so far, flashing/ rooting DOES NOT void the warranty.

Q: Does Android have limitations compared to other OS?
A:
Can’t send or receive files (2.0 and below)
App choices not as good as Apple’s App Store

Q: What is the "Class" thing on micro SD cards?
A: It indicates the data transfer speed of the card, the higher the better.

Q: So, which micro SD card class should I get?
A: Always get the highest class available (class 8), the difference between classes is noticeable.

Q: I just installed Modaco / custom roms, some of my applications how can't start and I have to force close, how can I fix this?
A: You will need to do a wipe in the recovery mode to fix it

MISC Questions

Q: I have a WinMo phone, can it run android?
A: Technically yes, practically no. See xda-developers.com to see if you phone supports it.

Recomended Apps (for those who wanna see what Android can do)


Tutorials
HTC Hero
From Original To Custom Rom


MP3 as ringtone or other sounds by naTTan
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1213449


Appendix

APN Settings


Jargon
Hero, Magic (G2), Dream (G1), Tattoo – Devices by HTC, refer to HTC’s website for more details.

SDK(Software Development Kit) – Used to help developers to write software for platforms such as Android.

Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Flan - Codenames for Android versions named after delicious pastry/desserts and in alphabetical order

Rooting – Gives user Privileged access to the phone, kinda like running as Administrator account on Windows.

IME(Input Method) – Kinda like a layer between your hands and input, allows for multiple language support.

EXT 2, EXT 3 – Linux file system, used by Android.

app2SD – Software that allows apps to be installed in the SDcard instead on the phone

Class 2, Class 6 – Read write speed of an SD card, the higher the better.

Will Update it with more tutorials and information soon

Contributions by str4vag,naTTan

Ever since mid-March, several sources online started to incite fear by reporting that someone discovered that the HTC Thunderbolt's bootloader was locked. Why would that be scary? Because we've all heard that Motorola's bootloaders are locked down, which severely limits how much you can do with a rooted phone, like flash custom ROMs. And Motorola has stated that it intends to do the same for all its future phones. Since the Thunderbolt's booloader is locked and signed, does this mean HTC is now headed down the same path?

No.

The first thing to understand is that the initial fear mongering was due to a huge lack of understanding about the nature of bootloaders. I'm going to explain it here in a clean thread and hope to counter all this misplaced concern for anyone looking for clarification.

What the authors of these reports failed to realize was that almost ALL phones' bootloaders come locked and signed. Always have. The Thunderbolt's bootloader security is no different than any of its HTC predecessors including the Droid Incredible, Evo 4G, and many others. They simply confused a "locked" bootloader to Motorola's bootloaders, which are also locked, but the key difference is the encryption layer that prevents the Moto bootloaders from being unlocked. There's a huge difference between being locked and being unlockable.

In a full root, one of the main objectives is to unlock the bootloader so you can flash custom ROMs. Here is a high-level overview of what happens during a full root:

1) find an exploit that tricks the phone in giving you temporary root privileges for that session. Typically some app has a vulnerability, and a root solution is available when a hacker finds an exploit.

2) Once a hacker has temp root, the superuser (su) binary is installed onto the system to make the root permanent. A user or app can simply call su to gain root privileges at will.

At this point, we've achieved a half-root. The phone is technically considered "root"ed. Now we move on to the juicy part of the root process: unlocking the bootloader.

3) The bootloader's stock firmware (HBOOT) can now be replaced with the pre-release Engineering version, which is a leaked HTC-signed image used when the phone firmware and OS was being developed. Since the image is properly signed, the bootloader accepts the firmware. The Engineering HBOOT comes with S-OFF, meaning it's unlocked by default (it makes sense that when the ROM is being developed, engineers wouldn't want to impose the lock on themselves). Once the bootloader is on the Engineering HBOOT, it is unlocked.

4) Now that the bootloader is unlocked (aka S-OFF, NAND unlocked), the factory recovery program is able to be replaced using the bootloader's fastboot flashing utility. Depending on the root method, you get either Clockworkmod or RA recovery, two widely available homebrew recovery programs.

5) with a custom recovery in place, you have the ability to flash images to various partitions that were previously protected by the bootloader, but now that the bootloader is unlocked, it essentially turns a blind eye to what the recovery image does.

Full root complete.


When the bootloader is encrypted, it means that it's expecting an HBOOT image to be encrypted with a very specific key. The problem is you can't generate the correct encryption on an Engineering HBOOT image without having the encryption key. So... no Eng HBOOT means S-ON remains (aka NAND locked, aka bootloader remains locked). Which means you can't ever have write access to key partitions of the filesystem that a custom kernel/ROM requires: /boot (kernel) and /system (Android OS). Furthermore, with Motorola bootloaders, there's something called an eFuse that checks to see if you've modified the bootloader. Assuming you do get the Eng HBOOT flashed, the eFuse may still kick in because of some checksum mismatch. Its job is to brick the phone when it detects that the bootloader has been tampered with. Ouch.

So will the Evo 3D come with a locked and signed bootloader? Most likely. But does that mean anything of consequence? No. The Engineering HBOOT will be inevitably leaked, a hacker will discover a root exploit, and the Evo 3D will be fully rooted shortly after.

Is there a possibility that HTC starts encrypting their bootloaders like Motorola? Yes. But the Thunderbolt's bootloader is not a valid reason to think that HTC is considering this. In fact, HTC has done nothing to indicate it may suddenly decide to change its existing policies. So relax. Chances are very good that the Evo 3D will be rooted quickly with little fanfare.

General Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB) Usage:

    • Discharging your LIB fully (or less than 2.4 Volt per cell) is bad for the battery. Every time you do that, it can be said that small part of your battery (some cells) dies (they forever lose their charge). Do not store your batteries depleted, there's a high chance they will die completely or will become very "weak".
    • You cannot restore bad LIBs by overloading/heating/praying. You gotta go buy a new one. They DO degrade overtime, some cells naturally lose the ability to gain/give electricity.
    • Although it is said that LIBs do not have memory, it's not entirely true. LIBs have gauges that monitor performance of cells, and if you do a lot of small charges, it won't let those gauges to monitor a full battery potential, causing an invalid indication of charge level. A complete charge/discharge should be made when battery capacity seems reduced, that will calibrate gauges and they will provide your phone with correct charge level status. A full charge/discharge cycle should be done every 30 (or so) partial charges.
    • LIBs have a shelf-life. Do not buy them to store them. Use them early, use them often, they will die whether you use them or not. Do not buy LIBs to use them in 6 months/year/etc, buy them right before actually using them.
    • LIBs have short lives (in comparison to NiCa batteries, etc). You should expect to buy a new battery in 2-3 years after being manufactured. It is caused by internal oxidation and there's nothing you can do to stop or prevent that.
    • Worst LIB treatment is to keep it at 100% charge level at high temperature (think laptop/phone under direct sunlight, like car dashboard).
    • Best LIB treatment, or LIBs "favorite" charge level - 40%. That's also the usual charge level you buy them with.
    • LIBs don't like heat. For example, while always at 100%, typical LIB in a laptop, at temperatures of 25C (77F) will lose 20% (twenty percent!) of full capacity per year. That capacity loss is reduced to 6% (six percent) at 0C (32F), and increased to 35% loss at 40C (104F). So, keep them cool (LIBs like fridges), don't let your devices sit in the sun or overheat at charge. Also, keep in mind that while in use, battery will be significantly hotter than phone/outside environment

    • LIBs like frequent partial charges/discharges more than they like full charges/discharges.
    • Car "fast-chargers" overtime degrade your battery a little, as they give too much energy to the battery too fast (high voltage). Trickle-charge (USB) is best. They do provide an initial higher capacity charge (high-voltage), but do degrade the long-term battery capacity. General idea is that the slower the charge - the longer (long-term) battery will serve you.


HTC/Google-specific advice:

    • Although this part is somewhat controversial, they do recommend having a complete, full FIRST charge to be made. If time allows, a preferred time for the first charge is 12 hours. This may have more to do with the OS than the battery.
    • Battery on a Android device, in average, will last about a full day with normal use (some videos, mail, calls). That's what you should kind-of expect.
    • Speaking in averages, "idling" 3G/EDGE connection (when phone is sleeping and no data is transferred through 3G), drains almost no energy. Just a little more than having 3G/EDGE radio off completely. So when no apps are using 3G, you don't need to keep it off.

    • Same goes to WiFi connection - although it's on, if there is no data flowing through it, it uses almost no energy.
    • At full throughput (100% data flow), EDGE is using significantly more energy than 3G. 3G is much more energy-efficient than EDGE.
    • WiFi is using more energy than 3G (when both are at 100% use), but since it transfers files much faster and then goes to "sleep", it's actually recommended to use WiFi whenever possible. Since it'll "sleep" more often than 3G, overall it will use much less battery than using 3G.
    • Some bad apps or widgets can use android's "WakeLock", keeping CPU at 100%, screen always-on, or both. I myself have encountered such widget (I won't mention the name, it's in the market) that used a WakeLock to keep CPU spun-up at 100% all the time. That makes a huge impact on battery life. My advice - use a CPU profiling app to monitor the CPU - make sure that CPU slows down by itself when it's not used. So, beware of such widgets/apps. To check for CPU cycles, many recommend OSMonitor (free from market, install it, go to options, sort by "Load" in descending order. It'll give you "busiest" processes at the top). At rest you should be getting about 10-20% for OSMonitor itself, and 1-10% Android System. At rest, everything else should be 0-1%.
    • Android (at least on Nexus One) slows down CPU when not in use by itself, as a built-in feature. Apps that throttle/change CPU frequency, are not necessarily needed.

cybersim2: So many ways:

1) using Google Market website - you find the app, you login to your Google Account on https://market.android.com/, and you login on the Android phone using the same Google Account. You click Install, it will install to your phone, and you don't have to touch your phone at all!

2) using an APK installer file - email it to your Google Account on your Android phone. I prefer this, lazy lah want to plug cables.

3) using an APK installer file with USB cable - plug USB, set Android to Mount as USB, then it will become like External Storage on your PC. Copy the file into the Android phone. Then you Unmount the Android, and use any file explorer software to open the APK file.

For #2 and #3 you need to enable "Allow installation of non-Market applications" in the Settings (for iPhone, need to jailbreak to do this LOL.)

Q: Will it connect to the internet when connected to a computer?
A: No, unlike WM, it does not do so. But you may set up a adhoc connection to your laptop.